Two Wheel Fix - View Single Post - Part-time Saddle Tramp

Mr Lefty · 02-11-2012, 11:02 PM

D-DAY... DAKAR DAY
0 hour... 0250. *My alarm goes off. *Of course I'd been rolling around all night sleepless with excitement.

Friday night a good buddy and planned future RTW trip partner Fred was in town and we went to dinner. *We shot the shit until about 2030(830pm), and I did the last little bit of organizing and crashed out. * I woke on the first note of reveille, yes that's my alarm. *Anyone who's ever been through basic should know why... nothing will get you going in from a dead sleep like reveille. * I got up and gave my apartment one last go over, un plugged my electronics (so they don't drive up my electric bill while I'm gone). *Took out my trash and stood waiting at the curb for my ride, a full 30 min early LOL. *We arrived in New Orleans at 0620 for my 0830 flight. *I checked in my bags, one at 47lbs and the other at 67... shit $120 for an extra bag and an over weight one... oh but wait... flash my ID and one look at my gorgeous mug and I'm told I can have 3 bags up to 70lbs for free... could have been the Active Duty status thing, but I think it was my stellar smile

1030 local time I land in Denver... and this is what greets me

Yeah, 10 degrees. *Ugh... who thought riding north in February was a good idea... all of a sudden I started thinking about heated underware to go under my heated vest! * I still held hope that west of the rockies the weather was warmer. * I was only supposed to be in Denver for 1hr... my flight to Farmington NM scheduled to depart at 1130hrs. This would put me in at 1256hrs acording to United, but due to a faulty master warning light, I departed at 1200hrs and arrived at 1330hrs.
My sardine tin

The flight through the rockies had some cool sights (the odd color is from the tint of the window... I tried correcting it as much as I could)

The co-pilot's mother was sitting right in front of me, in the first row. *So he left the door open to the cockpit and actually talked to her via headsets the whole flight.

As we got nearer to our destination the snow dissapeared and the terrain looke more like this

And that's when flying got interesting... this little plane moved 10' in all directions I swear... *didn't do well for my motion sickness, but it started on the decent so only had to make it to the ground... err I mean LAND on the ground. LOL
Welcome to Farmington Airport. *Easy to get lost

One last look at my Sardine tin

Finally on the ground, still sweating from my motion sickness, Chester, Tracy's brother in law, met me in the bagage claim area/waiting area. *Terrebly nice guy, all smiles and handshakes. *Right away the baggage claim shutters opened and every passanger's bag came out... well -2. *MY two. *DAMN, well getting upset won't solve anything, so I walked to the front and talked to the agent. *Looks as though another flight from Denver was due to leave at 1330. *He took my info and made some calls. *Chester took me into Farmington to get my hotel and feed me. *He gave me a tour of Farmington, which didn't take long, and we talked about shooting rifles and dirtbike riding, two seperate conversations lol.
Around 1430 we returned to the airport just in time to see the flight land. *the luggage cart gets pulled around the side and he struggles with getting the first bag off... MINE! *WHOOO HOOO... such a relief. *I'd already decided I wasn't gonna work on the bike today, I was exhausted, still feeling a little sick, and just wanted sleep. *Having my bags though made everything ok, knowing that it seemed it always took forever for anyone to get their bags when they were lost, from my friends and families experiences. *I found out they delayed the flight 30 mins just so that my bags would make it on, even though it wasn't even their(Great Lakes Airline) fault (United miss routed the bags apparently) *Chester took me back to the hotel to drop the bags off (got let in by room service... damn card not working), I pulled out my riding gear and set off for his place. *I felt like I was 4 years old again in the parking lot of Chucky Cheese's, it was everything I could do to wait until he stopped the truck before jumping out and going to my new bike.
There she sat on her center stand, primed and ready to go. *Plugged in and still charging the battery. *Chester loaned me some tools to allow me to remove Tracy's tank bag and mount the straps for the Wolfman Ranier bag. *I got it all done in about 5 min and threw on my suit, waived goodbye to Chester and his grandson and headed back to the hotel. *Now, I ment to find a good view and take some pictures, but I found it impossible to get off the bike save stopping for fuel. *Instead I rode around for a bit, then decided I'd better turn in for the night though my tiredness had vanished. *10 trips up and down the stairs later (damn room key's not working) they realized they had my room blocked and fixed the issue.
Now... it's off to bed. *Exhaustion has found me once again. *Night Ya'll.

Thanks again Tracy, you are the man!

02-11-2012, 11:02 PM	#4
Mr Lefty TWFix Legend Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Denver CO Moto: 01 BMW F650GS Dakar Posts: 15,677	D-DAY... DAKAR DAY 0 hour... 0250. My alarm goes off. Of course I'd been rolling around all night sleepless with excitement. Friday night a good buddy and planned future RTW trip partner Fred was in town and we went to dinner. We shot the shit until about 2030(830pm), and I did the last little bit of organizing and crashed out. I woke on the first note of reveille, yes that's my alarm. Anyone who's ever been through basic should know why... nothing will get you going in from a dead sleep like reveille. I got up and gave my apartment one last go over, un plugged my electronics (so they don't drive up my electric bill while I'm gone). Took out my trash and stood waiting at the curb for my ride, a full 30 min early LOL. We arrived in New Orleans at 0620 for my 0830 flight. I checked in my bags, one at 47lbs and the other at 67... shit $120 for an extra bag and an over weight one... oh but wait... flash my ID and one look at my gorgeous mug and I'm told I can have 3 bags up to 70lbs for free... could have been the Active Duty status thing, but I think it was my stellar smile 1030 local time I land in Denver... and this is what greets me Yeah, 10 degrees. Ugh... who thought riding north in February was a good idea... all of a sudden I started thinking about heated underware to go under my heated vest! * I still held hope that west of the rockies the weather was warmer. * I was only supposed to be in Denver for 1hr... my flight to Farmington NM scheduled to depart at 1130hrs. This would put me in at 1256hrs acording to United, but due to a faulty master warning light, I departed at 1200hrs and arrived at 1330hrs. My sardine tin The flight through the rockies had some cool sights (the odd color is from the tint of the window... I tried correcting it as much as I could) The co-pilot's mother was sitting right in front of me, in the first row. So he left the door open to the cockpit and actually talked to her via headsets the whole flight. As we got nearer to our destination the snow dissapeared and the terrain looke more like this And that's when flying got interesting... this little plane moved 10' in all directions I swear... didn't do well for my motion sickness, but it started on the decent so only had to make it to the ground... err I mean LAND on the ground. LOL Welcome to Farmington Airport. Easy to get lost One last look at my Sardine tin Finally on the ground, still sweating from my motion sickness, Chester, Tracy's brother in law, met me in the bagage claim area/waiting area. Terrebly nice guy, all smiles and handshakes. Right away the baggage claim shutters opened and every passanger's bag came out... well -2. MY two. DAMN, well getting upset won't solve anything, so I walked to the front and talked to the agent. Looks as though another flight from Denver was due to leave at 1330. He took my info and made some calls. Chester took me into Farmington to get my hotel and feed me. He gave me a tour of Farmington, which didn't take long, and we talked about shooting rifles and dirtbike riding, two seperate conversations lol. Around 1430 we returned to the airport just in time to see the flight land. the luggage cart gets pulled around the side and he struggles with getting the first bag off... MINE! WHOOO HOOO... such a relief. I'd already decided I wasn't gonna work on the bike today, I was exhausted, still feeling a little sick, and just wanted sleep. Having my bags though made everything ok, knowing that it seemed it always took forever for anyone to get their bags when they were lost, from my friends and families experiences. I found out they delayed the flight 30 mins just so that my bags would make it on, even though it wasn't even their(Great Lakes Airline) fault (United miss routed the bags apparently) Chester took me back to the hotel to drop the bags off (got let in by room service... damn card not working), I pulled out my riding gear and set off for his place. I felt like I was 4 years old again in the parking lot of Chucky Cheese's, it was everything I could do to wait until he stopped the truck before jumping out and going to my new bike. There she sat on her center stand, primed and ready to go. Plugged in and still charging the battery. Chester loaned me some tools to allow me to remove Tracy's tank bag and mount the straps for the Wolfman Ranier bag. I got it all done in about 5 min and threw on my suit, waived goodbye to Chester and his grandson and headed back to the hotel. Now, I ment to find a good view and take some pictures, but I found it impossible to get off the bike save stopping for fuel. Instead I rode around for a bit, then decided I'd better turn in for the night though my tiredness had vanished. 10 trips up and down the stairs later (damn room key's not working) they realized they had my room blocked and fixed the issue. Now... it's off to bed. Exhaustion has found me once again. Night Ya'll. Thanks again Tracy, you are the man!